A couple months back, I wrote on this blog about my most recent shoulder surgery. (I had my right shoulder done 3 years ago. This year I “balanced” things with work on the left wing.) Though my progress has been great, I am still a few months away from “being back to normal.” Whatever that means. New normal as they say?

Today, one of my gym buddies asked me about the prognosis for post-surgery life. Would I be “good as new”? Would I be able to work out like a 20-something gym rat? Would I have limitations or a reduced capacity for activity?

Good questions that made me ponder, once again, the value of healthy goals.

No, I will not be able to mimic a 20-something in the gym. But that was never my goal with this surgery. I had short-term goals (pain relief and ability to accomplish simple everyday functions that I was not able to do). Long-term I want to continue with my routine, albeit revised, in the gym.

Image: Markuso/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Unfortunately, for too many years my gym goals centered on being able to lift heavier and heavier weights so that I could achieve a body type like others in the weight room. That led to my first shoulder injury. I did not learn from that experience—and went right back to feeling I could keep ratcheting up the regimen. And then I suffered through a second shoulder injury from attempting to act like a 20-year old in the gym.

So, it took two shoulders to understand the goals I had set in the gym were the wrong goals for me. As a trainer told me, no matter how much I lifted and trained I was not going to have the “guns” (biceps) of the “big boys” in the gym. We just have different musculature. Those packing the heavy “guns” would have a tough time keeping up with me in a cardio session/class.

For some people, recalibration of goals is a failure of sorts in their eyes. “If I have to scale back then what good is the surgery? Why bother if the prognosis won’t allow me to be what I used to be?” Here are a few thoughts:

Diminished capacity does not equate with diminished motivation, desire, and ability to achieve. I can still set lofty goals.

Reflective recalibration leads to a refreshing reality check.

Unhealthy goals lead to injury…which leads to pain…which leads to operating at less than capacity (anyway!)…which leads to down time.

I don’t have time for injuries. I don’t want to continually work around the injuries. I don’t want to spend money on injuries. Especially when I can make an effort to avoid the injuries.

Some might call that rationalization or getting lazy or giving up or getting old. I don’t. As long as I continue to stretch myself and reach for challenging goals I will be fine. The trick becomes in identifying the line between challenging and damaging. In my case, two shoulders have pointed out the line. And I have decided to listen.

Are you paying attention to your feedback?

Video recommendation for the week:

This week’s video takes a different look at whether or not we should announce our goals to the world.